How to cut 5,000 calories from your diet every week and eat the SAME foods
AN expert has revealed how you can cut thousands of calories from your diet while still eating the same foods you love.
Graeme Tomlinson, also known as the Fitness Chef, showed how making just tiny tweaks over the week can lead to huge deficits of 5,000 calories.
How many calories a person eats is very individual, depending on their size and goal.
But generally, women should eat around 2,000 calories a day (14,000 a week) and men 2,500 (17,500), the NHS says.
To lose weight, the NHS recommends cutting 600 calories a day (4,200 a week) to lose a safe 1lb to 2lb per week.
This can seem an impossible task for those trying to lose weight, especially with habits that have potentially built up over a life-time.
Fad diets and cutting out food groups can also be miserable and lead to more weight gain over the long term, experts say.
called “how to lose fat without going on a foolish diet”, Graeme used the example of “Ashley next door” - who has failed on diets for years.
The best-selling author, with one million Instagram followers, said all it takes is learning how to keep enjoying the foods you love while remaining in a calorie deficit.
He said: “Failure occurs because dieting extremes often fail to communicate the fundamental, un-negotiable scientific necessity required for fat loss - adherence to a calorie deficit.
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“Ashley’s long term adherence to fat loss is more likely to be achieved if enjoyment coexists with the calorie deficit.
“He/she now knew that drastic changes were previously miserable and that small changes would be more sustainable.
“It therefore made sense for Ashley to research lower calorie equivalents of foods he/she already enjoyed.
“Now he/she made tiny changes, but the resulting caloric reduction would be hugely beneficial to losing fat. And continuation of dietary enjoyment would facilitate long term goal adherence.
“Ashley already had a diet. A few small changes was all that was required to enjoy food and lose fat.”
Here, Graeme gave examples for how you can make those changes and lose 1lb to 2lb per week:
BREAKFAST: Slash 793 kcals
Graeme showed how toast with your favourite spread each morning doesn’t have to be so calorific if you just watch how much spread you use.
Six slices each week, with Nutella (40g), peanut butter (40g), jam (30g), avocado (175g), cream cheese (50g) and butter (15g), would come to 1,710 calories.
But cut those portions down, for example 15g of Nutella and 50g of avocado (around a quarter of one avocado), then you lose almost 800 calories from breakfast alone.
WEEKLY COFFEE: Slash 1,174 kcals
If you pick up a large mocha on your way to work every day, this would come to around 2,118 calories.
But you can save more than half the calories (-1,174) by getting just two large mochas a week, two large cappuccinos and two large americanos.
It saves a lot of milk and flavourings from syrups and sugar. But you can still enjoy your favourite coffee at least twice a week.
CARBS: Slash 644 kcals
If you’re trying to lose weight, portion control is something you’ll have to get used to if you still want to eat your favourite foods.
Graeme showed how blind serving can cause calories to pile up using the examples of dry pasta (125g), rice (100g), noodles (100g).
This would amount to 1,521 calories once cooked.
But using the recommended serving sizes, (75g pasta, 60g rice, 50g noodles and 60g oats), will save you 644 calories over the week.
MEAT: Slash 1,058 kcals
If you’re a meat eater, you potentially won’t even notice the following changes.
Instead of having 200g of 20 per cent fat beef mince (504 calories), have 200g of 5 per cent fat beef mince (248 calories).
The same goes for pork mince, which could save you 278 calories.
Swap 200g salmon (418 calories) for 200g of cod (142 calories), and chicken thighs with skin (460 calories) for skinless chicken breast (212 calories).
Picking lean meat removes a whopping 1,058 calories from your week without barely changing the foods you eat.
FATS: Slash 695 kcals
Some tweaks to the diet only involve a little more attention to food labels as you do your weekly shop.
Graeme showed how two portions of full fat Greek yoghurt (400g), cheese (100g) and chocolate ice cream (250ml) adds up to around 1,367 calories per week.
But by looking for the reduced fat versions you could save yourself 695 calories a week, and without cutting the food out completely.
Almost every supermarket will have 0% fat Greek yoghurt, 50 per cent reduced fat cheese and reduced calorie chocolate ice cream - yes, it exists!
DRINKS: Slash 729 kcals
One of the biggest changes you can make is to switch from full fat sugar options to sugar-free diet versions.
This could save you 729 calories a week if you like to drink Coca-Cola, Fanta, and other sweetened beverages like orange juice.
TAKEAWAY: Watch what you eat the next day
Graeme gets it - you don’t want to give up your favourite takeaway.
He doesn’t try advising you don’t have the 1,298 calorie pizza you desire.
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But instead of getting hung up on it, he says “move on and adjust your calories tomorrow”. Enjoy it while it’s there, but get back on the wagon tomorrow, instead of feeling guilty and letting one meal derail your efforts.
TOTAL: 5,093
